An innovative action–research approach that integrates corporeal pedagogy, embodied cognition, and enactive teaching to transform science teaching in Italian secondary schools, consistent with ESF funding and the Next Generation EU priorities for the tangibility of intangible variables. This action–research explores the integration of generative AI and embodied cognition in language education, proposing an innovative theoretical–practical framework. Theoretically, generative AI is conceptualized not as a mere computational tool but as an extended cognitive artifact (Clark and Chalmers, 1998) that mediates body–mind–environment interaction according to the principles of embodiment cognition (Varela et al., 1991). The research draws on the modular theory of mind (Fodor, 1983) and the bio–ecological model of development (Bronfenbrenner, 1989), integrating trait emotional intelligence (Petrides, 2011) as a moderating variable of teaching effectiveness. Two experimental conditions were implemented with 54 secondary school students: Group 1 experienced embodied sensory remodeling sessions before using generative AI for text production; Group 2 used generative AI with a traditional enactive teaching approach. Evaluation tools include TEIque–AFF questionnaires (Petrides, 2009), sociograms, and qualitative analysis of language production. Preliminary results suggest that integrating embodied practices significantly improves metacognitive awareness in the use of AI, reducing “digital dementia” (Spitzer, 2012) and promoting critical and creative use of generative tools. The proposed model offers implications for European educational policies (Next Generation EU) and represents an original contribution to evidence–based language teaching.
